These Dallas Holiday Events Will Leave You Feeling Festive AF

Dallas-Fort Worth is coming alive with the holiday spirit, as venues across the metroplex are lighting trees, stringing garlands, doling out hot cocktails, and putting “All I Want for Christmas” on repeat. So there’s never been a better time to get out of the house and into an elaborately decorated bar, hotel, or park.

Whether you want to stroll through an ice village, sip spiked cider, or belt out carols to a captive karaoke audience, we’ve got you covered with these can’t-miss holiday events.

Now thru December 31
Grapevine
Grapevine is the Christmas Capital of Texas, in no small part due to the Gaylord Texan. The massive resort embraces the holidays with elaborate decor and family-friendly activities like snow tubing and skating, but the biggest draw of all is Ice!. This immersive exhibit covers 17,000 square feet and features 6,000 hand-carved ice blocks depicting scenes from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s enough to make your heart grow three sizes that day.

Now thru December 31
Grapevine and Grand Prairie
Maybe you’ve fully joined the pickleball cult, or maybe you just like drinking on rooftops. Chicken N Pickle lets you do both this holiday season thanks to its Holiday Hideaway pop-up. The rooftop has all the twinkling lights, gondola photo booths, cozy seating, and fire pits you require for a mountain lodge experience. Each reservation comes with a shareable appetizer, then you can work your way through nine unique holiday cocktails and a Martini flight.

Now thru January 6
The Village
The Village Country Club is hosting six weeks of holiday-themed events and activations, including cocktails classes, a Thanksgiving buffet, drinks-fueled gift-wrapping sessions, pajama parties, and “carol-oke.” There’s also a spiked cocoa bar to keep you warm, plus a variety of other seasonal cocktails and snacks.

White Rock Lake
Immerse yourself in nature at the city’s 66-acre gem overlooking the sparkling White Rock Lake. More than 100,000 pumpkins, fall blooming plants, and pumpkin-spiced goodies at Autumn at the Arboretum will soon make way for over half a million lights during Holiday at the Arboretum. Get tickets to this year’s opening ceremony and be among the first to see the return of the larger-than-life 12 Days of Christmas displays and, new this year, an army of 600 nutcrackers in the elaborately decorated DeGoyler House.

November 18–January 1
Addison
Vitruvian Park transforms into a holiday wonderland during the annual Vitruvian Lights event. This year, they’ve decked out the park with more than 1.5 million sparkling lights wrapped around 555 trees. The lights turn on each night at 5 pm.
Cost: Free to attend. Parking is $15.

November 24–December 23
Bishop Arts District
The Exxir Hospitality crew (Paradiso, Bar Eden) got you a gift for the holidays. It’s the annual Tipsy Elf pop-up, this time with an even larger presence that stretches across Bishop Lane and throughout their Casablanca and Tejas venues. Take a self-guided tour, and you’ll find four Christmas-themed bars, five Karoling Karaoke lounges, nostalgic decor, and themed cocktails. And throughout the month-long pop-up, they’re hosting events like drag bingo and an ugly sweater party, so there’s always something new to do.

Now thru December 31
McKinney
The team behind Rye and Apothecary is popping up on the square in Downtown McKinney. They’ve outfitted the space with Christmas movie-themed rooms inspired by classics like A Christmas Story and Elf, and they’ve created a special menu focused on chicken and cocktails—yes, the holy duo. There will be nuggies. There will be tendies. There will be sandwiches and fries and cheese curds. Cocktails include the Hanging with My Snowmies (bourbon, hot chocolate, whipped cream), Yule Shoot Your Rye Out (a gingerbread rye Old Fashioned), and other fun fare. If nothing else, go for the puns. But also the chicken.

Now thru January 14
Uptown
Miracle is back. This year, the global pop-up event inhabits the former Sidebar space on Howell Street, bringing over-the-top decor and holly jolly cocktails to all who enter. Expect drinks like the Snowball Old Fashioned (rye whiskey, gingerbread, bitters) and the Christmapolitan, with vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, lime, rosemary, and absinthe. Sample a few cocktails, then go home with a souvenir santa pants mug or naughty and nice shot glasses.

November 24–December 31
Uptown
This cozy British pub is festooning the space with cheerful decor and serving special holiday-themed food and beverages. Dive into Merry Meatballs and Eggnog Crème Brûlée, then wash it all down with a rum-spiked hot apple cider or the Polar Bear Espresso Martini, made with vodka, espresso, and coffee liqueur.

Now thru January 7
Downtown
Step into the French Room Bar’s seasonal Cocoa Lounge, which has been elegantly transformed via an infusion of lights, garlands, and ornaments. The menu is stocked with hot cocoa, sweet treats, and specialty adult beverages, like the Chestnuts Roasting, with scotch, Madeira, maple and cherry bitters. The lounge is also serving the Cocoa Tea Tier, a paired down take on the hotel’s famous holiday tea.

Now thru February 14
Hotel Vin, Grapevine
Hotel Vin has brought its popular Winter Wonderland Bubbles back to its lawn, with eight igloo-like structures surrounded by lights and evergreen trees and situated alongside the ​​historic Grapevine Vintage Railroad. The bubbles fit up to six people, and each 90-minute experience includes three-cheese fondue served with all the accoutrement and a bottle of wine.

November 22–February 11
Downtown
The Statler’s rooftop pool and bar, Waterproof, is transitioning into Winterproof Cloud 19 for the season. The 19th floor venue is outfitted with twinkling lights, private snow globes, and heated cabanas, and it’s serving a winter-themed tea menu with assorted teas, snacks, and wines.

November 23–February 29
Deep Ellum
This Deep Ellum hotel is embracing an Aspen meets Texas winter chalet theme for the holidays and into next year. Beginning on Thanksgiving, you can score a s’mores kit at the bar and roast marshmallows over the poolside fire pits. The lobby bar is serving seasonal pre-batched cocktails, including a Spiced Pear Martini and a Coffee Old Fashioned served in individual flasks. And December 9 brings a holiday winter market into the hotel, with local vendors and artisans selling gifts and crafts, so you can grab something for everyone on your list.

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